Plow tail wheel construction



y 8, 1958 R. L. CHANDLER 2,842,038

PLOW TAIL WHEEL CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 2, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet l 490/11 CswA/az 5e,

. IN V EN TOR.

ArraeA/z-v July 8, 1958 R. L. CHANDLER 23 5 PLOW TAIL WHEEL CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 2, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet z 25 Ill fir .1 02/4004 2,

1 N V EN TOR.

' Arrae/vsx United States The present invention relates generally to earth working equipment, and is more particularly concerned with a novel tail Wheel construction for plows, especially plows of the two-way type.

It has been generally known heretofore to utilize with a rollover frame in a two-way plow construction, a tail wheel which is supported on a swiugable arm carried by the rollover frame. However, it has been the conventional practice to utilize stops for limiting the pivotal movement of the swingable arm so that the limit positions of the arm are above and below the horizontal plane of the rollover frame, and when the tail wheel is being utilized to adjust the plowing depth, this arm is inclined upwardly so that the axis of rotation of the tail wheel will be positioned above the rollover frame. With this construction, an extremely large diameter wheel is necessary, which becomes very bulky and heavy.

Moreover, in theconventional arrangement, when the plow is shifted from one side to the other, this pivoted arm and attached tail wheel are free to move under gravitational forces from one stop to the other, and as a result extremely high impact forces result, and the arm tail wheel terminate their movement with a banging action of such force that the associated parts may become damaged over a period of time, and extremely large parts are necessitated to withstand such forces.

With the foregoing in mind, the present invention contemplates a unique mounting for the tail wheel in which the supporting arm, during periods of use, projects below the rollover frame, thus permitting utilization of smaller tail wheels, and permitting material reduction in weight of the equipment.

A further object is to provide a tail wheel construction which embodies a unique means for controlling the swinging movement of the tail wheel, when shifting the plows from one side of the other.

Still another object is to provide novel means by which the tail wheel may be adjusted to regulate the plowing depth.

Further objects of the invention will be brought out in the following part of thespecification, wherein detailed description is for the purpose of fully disclosing the invention without placing limitations thereon.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, which are for illustrative purposes only:

Fig. 1 is an elevational side view of a two-way plow embodying a tail wheel construction according to the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view, taken substantially on line 22 of Pig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a rear end viewshowing details of the tail Wheel controlling and shifting means, and with the tail wheel shown in aplowing depth regulating position; and

Figs. 4 and 5 are views showing the operation of the tail wheel shifting mechanism for shifting the tail wheel during change of plow bottoms from one side to the oppositeside.

ate

. by means of bolts 27-27'.

2,842,038 Patented July 8, 1958 Referring more specifically to the drawings, for illustrative purposes, the present invention is disclosed as being applied to a two-way plow construction which incorporates a supporting frame 10 which is associated with a draft mechanism (not shown) which also provides for tiltably raising the support frame so as to move the plow bottoms into the air and permit transportion of the plow from one point to another. The draft mechanism also usually incorporates suitable means for actuating a rollover frame which in this instance is indicated as comprising a tubular structure 11 in concentric relation to the support frame 10, and which usually is provided with laterally extending bracket members 12, or an equivalent structure suitable for supporting conventional standards such as indicated by numerals 13 and 14, respectively. These standards are arranged so as to project above the horizontal plane passing through the rollover frame 11, and are adapted to carry at their ends sets of oppositely disposed plow bottoms 15 and 16 which may be selectively brought into a position of use by rotating the rollover frame 11 so as to position the brackets 12 on one side or the other of the rollover frame.

As thus far described, the two-way plow may embody various constructions by which the two-way plow may be supported and arranged for shifting from one position of use to the other. In the present invention, and for purposes of illustrating its basic principles, the after end of the supporting frame It is provided with a fixed collar 17 against which the adjacent end of the rollover frame 11 abuts. A fabricated end structure 18 is supported on the projecting end of the support: frame, this end structure comprising a mounting sleeve 19 to which there is welded or otherwise secured a crossbar 20 which extends above or generally on one side of a diameter of the sleeve with its ends diametrically opposed on opposite sides. The sleeve is secured to the associated end of the support frame 10 with the crossbar 20 substantially horizontal, by means of a pin 21, as shown in Pig. 3.

The crossbar 20 at each end carries a nut 22 which is secured as by welding or otherwise so that its threaded bore is slightly inclined for receiving an adjustable bolt 23, a lock nut 24 being provided to retain the bolt 23 in an adjusted position. The head of the bolt 23 forms an abutment, for a purpose to be subsequently described.

Between the ends of the crossbar 20, a depending arm Z5 is secured at one end to the sleeve 19 so as to project downwardly at right angles to the crossbar 20. A rearwardly projecting pin 26 is supported at the outermost end of the arm 25, and will be discussed subsequently in connection with the control mechanism for moving the tail wheel during the change-over operation from one plow bottom to the other.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a plate member 27 is secured at the outermost end of one of the brackets 12 The plate 27 projects rearwardly of the rear bracket 12 and serves as a mounting for a spindle structure 28 upon which an arm 29 is pivotally mounted at one end for swinging movement. The outer end of the arm 29 carries an axle structure 30 upon which a tail wheel 31 is rotatably mounted.

Between the ends of the arm 29, a plate member 32 is secured as by welding or otherwise so as to project inwardly in such a manner that in the operative poistion of the tail wheel, the uppermost edge of the plate 32 will be adapted to abut the head of the adjacently positioned bolt 23, and thus limit upward swinging movement of the arm 29. By adjusting the bolt 23, the upper limit of movement may be varied, and it is this position of the tail wheel which is the normal operative position during plowing, and by the adjustment just described, the axle which rotatably supports the tail wheel may be raised and lowered in order to regulate the plowing depth to the desired amount.

It will be observed that for the shallow plowing depths, the arm 29, which supports the tail wheel, extends obliquely downwardly from its pivoted end, so as to position the axle 30 well below the horizontal plane through the support frame 10. This enables utilization of a relatively small tail wheel, and permits a reduction in weight of the supporting structure therefor. However, for more extreme depths the axle 30 is readily positionable above the horizontal plane.

When the support frame is lifted to raise the plow bottoms to a position for transportation or movement of the plow from one location to the other, or when changing the plow bottoms from one position to the other, the inherent weight of the tail wheel and arm 25' will cause the arm to swing downwardly until the lowermost edge of the plate member 32 strikes against the adjacent edge 33 of the plate 27, this position being shown in full lines in Fig. 1.

With the construction thus far described, actuation of the rollover frame to change plows will cause the tail wheel supporting structure to be carried in an are below the support frame 10, and that during this movement the spindle 28 will pass through a position wherein the weight of the tail wheel will act to swing the arm 29 under gravitational force through an arc until the opposite edge of the plate 32 strikes the edge 33 of plate 27. Since this movement is unrestrained, the shifting movement will be terminated with a sharp impact blow of such intensity that over a long period of time, these impacts will result in undesirable wear and possible breakdown of the supporting structure.

In accordance with the present invention, the shifting movement of the tail wheel structure during plow changeover is controlled in such a manner that these impact and undesirable blows are eliminated. For such purpose, an arm 34 is cooperatively supported in an angular position by the arm 29 and plate member 32. As shown in Fig. 2, the inner end of the arm 34, adjacent its securement to the adjacent plate member 32, is angularly deflected and formed into a fork 35 which is adapted to receive the pin 26 therein during the plow change-over operation and mechanically control and move the arm 29 from one position to the other.

This movement is more specifically illustrated and shown in Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings. At the beginning of the change-over, the tail wheel will be in the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, the lower edge of plate member 32 being in abutting relation with the adjacent edge 33 of the plate 27. As the rollover frame is moved, the pin 26 enters the fork 35 as shown in Fig. 4. It will be noted that at this time the arm 29 projects generally to the left. As the swinging movement of the rollover frame continues, the stationary pin 26 will act to mechanically swing the arm 29 to the position shown in Fig. 5, wherein the arm 29 projects to the right and the other edge of the plate member 32 is carried into abutting engagement with the adjacent edge 33 of the plate 27. It will thus be apparent that the swinging movement of tail wheel is thus controlled by the action of the 26 pin and fork 35, and the undesirable free movement under gravitational forces and resulting impact is prevented.

Various modifications may suggest themselves to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my invention, and, hence, I do not wish to be restricted to the specific form shown or uses mentioned, except to the extent indicated in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a two-way plow: a fixed support frame, a plow carrying frame mounted on said support frame for swinging movements from one side to the other thereof; a tail wheel; an arm pivotally supporting said tail wheel for unitary movement with said carrying frame, and relative swinging movement about the pivot of said arm; an abutment adjacent said pivot adapted to limit downward swinging movement of the arm on either side of the support frame; a cross-member carried by said support frame having ends positioned on opposite sides of the support frame; adjustable stops at the ends of said cross-member for respectively limiting and varying upward movement of the arm on each side of the support frame; a pin carried by said support frame positioned below said cross-member; a member carried by said arm having a forked outer end adapted to engage said pin and shift the arm from one position of engagement with said abutment to its other position of engagement with said abutment during change of the plow frame from one side to the other of said support frame.

2. In a two-way plow: a support frame; a plow carrying frame mounted on said support frame for swinging movements from one side to the other thereof; a .tail wheel; an arm pivotally supporting said tail wheel for movement with said plow carrying frame, and relative swinging movement in a substantially vertical plane on either side of said support frame; spaced first stops adjacent the pivot of said arm for respectively limiting the downward swinging movement of the arm on each side of the support frame; second stops carried by said support frame respectively adjustable to limit the upward movement of the arm on each side of the support frame; a projection carried by said arm having a forked end; a projection carried by said support frame in the line of movement of said fork and engageable thereby, upon changing the plow frame from one side to the other of the support frame, said fork and latter projection acting to shift said arm between said first stops during said changes of the plow frame.

3. In a two-way plow: a support frame; a plow carrying frame mounted on said support frame for swinging movements from one side to the other thereof; a tail Wheel; an arm pivotally supporting said tail wheel for movement with said plow carrying frame, and relative swinging movement in a substantially vertical plane on either side of said support frame; spaced first stops adjacent the pivot of said arm for respectively limiting the downward swinging movement of the arm on each side of the support frame; second stops carried by said support frame respectively adjustable to limit the upward movement of the arm on each side of the support frame; and means for controllably moving the arm from one of the said first stops to the other first stop during movement of the plow frame from said one side of the support frame to the other side thereof.

4. In a two-way plow: a support frame; a plow carrying frame mounted on said support frame for swinging movements from one side to the other thereof; a tail wheel; an arm pivotally supporting said tail wheel for movement with said plow carrying frame, and relative swinging movement in a substantially vertical plane on either side of said support frame; means adjacent the pivot of said arm for respectively limiting the downward swinging movement of the arm on each side of the support frame; and adjustable means carried by said support frame for respectively limiting the upward movement of the arm on each side of the support frame.

5. In a two-way plow: a support frame, a plow carrying frame mounted on said support frame for swinging movements from one side to the other thereof; a tail wheel; an arm pivotally supporting said tail wheel for movement with said ploy carrying frame, and relative swinging movement in a substantially vertical plane on either side of said support frame; and adjustable stop means supported independently of said plow carrying framefor variably changing the upward limit of swing of said arm so as to vary the plowing depth.

6. In a two-way plow: a support frame; a plow frame mounted on said support frame for swinging movement from one side to the other thereof; a tail wheel; an arm pivotally supporting said tail wheel on said plow frame for swinging movements; stops limiting said arm movements, when the tail wheel is positioned on either side of the support frame, to a path positioned generally below a horizontal plane passing through said support frame, one of said stops being carried by said plow frame, and the other by said support frame; and means for adjusting the latter of said stops to vary the upward swinging limit of the arm determine the plowing depth.

7. In a two way plow: a support frame; a plow frame mounted on said support frame for svvi ging movemer from one side to the other thereof; a tail wheel; an arm pivotaliy supporting said tail wheel on said plow frame for swinging movements; and stops limiting said arm movements, when the tail wheel is positioned on either side of the support frame, to a path positioned generally below a horizontal plane passing through said support frame, one of said stops being carried by said support frame, and the other by said plow frame.

8. In a two-way plow: a support frame; a rollover frame carried by said support frame and adapted for swinging movement from one side to the other thereof to selectively present associated plow members for use; a depth gauge wheel carried by said rollover frame and movable therewith from an operating position on one side of the support frame to an operating position on the other side of the support frame; axle rotatably supporting said wheel; mounting means connecting said axle with said rollover frame for relative movement therebetween in going from one operating position to the other; and means including an element carried by the support frame to cause said relative movement of said axle from one operating position to the other to be constrained such that undesirable free movement of said gauge wheel during swinging movement of said rollover frame is minimized.

97 In a two way plow, the combination of: a mobile frame including a rearwardly extending longitudinal beam, a carrier mounted to turn on said beam, groundengaging plow means mounted upon the carrier for producing either a right-hand or a left-hand furrow, means for turning the carrier to either of two operative positions to form a right-hand furrow or a left-hand furrow, as desired, a swinging arm pivotally connected to said 'carrier, stop means limiting pivotal movement of the arm relative to the carrier in either direction, a tail wheel mounted on said swinging arm and adapted to roll upon unploughed ground in either operative position of said carrier, a stationary member fixed relative to the longitudinal beam, a pair of laterally spaced contact elements on said member, each of said elements engaging said wheel arm in one of the operative positions of the carrier to maintain the wheel axis below the pivotal axis of said arm.

10. In a two way plow, the combination of: a mobile frame including a rearwardly extending longitudinal beam, a carrier mounted to turn on said beam, groundengaging plow means mounted upon the carrier for producing either a right-hand furrow or a left-hand furrow, means for turning the carrier to either of two operative positions to form a right-hand furrow or a left-hand furrow, as desired, a swinging arm pivotally connected to said carrier, stop means limiting pivotal movement of the arm relative to the carrier in either direction, a tail wheel mounted u said swinging arm and adapted to roll upon unploughed ground in either operative position of said carrier, a stationary bracket fixed, relative to the longitudinal beam near the rear end thereof, a pair of laterally spaced contact elements on said bracket, each of said elei ents said wheel arm in one of the operative positions of the carrier to limit downward movement of the carrier.

11. in a two way plow, the combination of: a mobile frame including a rearwardly extending longitudinal beam, a carrier mounted to turn on said beam, ground-engaging plow means mounted upon the carrier for producing either a right-hand furrow or a left-hand furrow, means for turning the carrier to either of two operative positions to form a right-hand furrow or a lefthand furrow, as desired, a swinging arm pivotally connected to said carrier, stop means limiting pivotal movement of the arm relative to the carrier in either direction, a tail wheel mounted on said swinging arm and adapted to roll upon unploughed ground in either operative position of said carrier, a stationary bracket fixed relative to the longitudinal beam near the rear end thereof, a pair of laterally spaced contact elements on said bracket, each of said elements engaging said wheel arm at a location forwardly from the wheel axis in one of the operative positions of the carrier to limit downward movement of the carrier.

12. In a two way plow, the combination of: a mobile frame including a rearwardly extending longitudinal beam, a carrier mounted to turn on said beam and being provided with a right-hand plow and a left-hand plow, means for turning the carrier to either of two operative positions to bring either plow into ground-engaging relation, a swinging arm pivotally connected to said carrier, stop means limiting pivotal movement of the arm relative to the carrier in either direction, a tail wheel mounted on said swinging arm and adapted to roll upon unploughed ground in either operative position of said carrier, a stationary bracket fixed relative to the longitudinal beam near the rear end thereof, a pair of laterally spaced contact elements each adjustably fixed on said bracket, each of said elements engaging said wheel arm in one of the operative positions of the carrier to limit downward movement of the carrier and maintain the wheel axis below the axis of the longitudinal beam, said elements each being adjustable in a direction to vary the extent of movement of said swinging arm.

Preferences Cited in the file of this patent UNETED STATES PATENTS 

